What is your medium now? (oils, acrylic, pastel, watercolor...) What colors are on your palette? Why?

I use only four colors (plus white, of course, which doesn't count as a color, right?). I use the three primaries (yellow, red, and blue) plus viridian green, which I don't use much. I like veridian to make "black" (viridian plus ultramarine blue plus my red) and to mix with red and some blue to make nice cool grays for background mountains, etc. I do most of my painting with just the three primaries. I have used this very limited palette for so long that I wouldn't even know how to use any more colors than those anymore. And it works for me so I am content to just keep using them. And I guess that such a limited palette gives a certain "automatic harmony" to the painting as almost all the colors in a painting are made with various amounts of the three colors, and occasionally veridian green. It is virtually impossible to make "mud" with just the four colors. Anyway, "mud" in a painting is like a "weed" in a garden. A weed is just a plant that is growing where it isn't supposed to be. So "mud" in a painting is just a color that is not working where it is. It could be beautiful and just right in some other place in the painting or other situation.

When do you know a painting is really finished? Or are you always wanting to "tweak" it a bit more?

When I get to the "end" of the painting and find myself "dabbing" and adding little bits of color here and there that do not really make any difference in how the painting looks, I know I am "finished." It is always good, however, to set the painting aside for a couple of days, a couple of weeks even, and then look at it again with a fresh eye. Maybe you really weren't finished after all and it may need some more work or changes which would be more than just "tweaking." How many of us have thrown away, or reworked, old paintings that we are so glad nobody else ever saw, yet at the time we thought they were finished!

Though most of us prefer working outdoors, do you prefer a studio where you live or maintaining a separate space? Why?

I think it is better to have a studio away from where you live, and apparently, many other full-time artists agree from what I read in the art magazines. It is too easy to get side-tracked by other "stuff" going on around the house that needs to get done. When you have to go to a separate space away from your home, you are more likely to devote your time there to concentrating on painting and other art related activities. A separate space for a studio away from your house here in the Washington, D.C., area, however, can be expensive so this may not always be possible for local artists. I guess it would be the same in any large metropolitan are a where real estate values, and consequently rents, are exorbitant.

Do you listen to music when you are painting? If yes, what are your favorites?

I listen to CDs in my studio while I am painting. I like "new age" music or off-beat stuff; my favorites are "Enigma" or "The Dead Can Dance." And some of the music called "chill.""I also like most of the stuff composed by Phillip Glass and John Adams. And for vocals, which I seldom listen to, I like Sarah Brightman or Josh Groban.

Have a TV on?

I can't even imagine trying to paint with a TV on! I seldom even watch TV at home, except for Lou Dobbs on CNN for my daily news and movies we get from Netflix. TV is virtually mind-numbing for the most part and simply not worth wasting my time watching. I know, I know - there are some good educational shows on once in awhile and I will try to watch those if I know about them.

Do you use an "ipod" when painting outdoors?

I don't even know what an "ipod" is! I think it is something to play recorded music on, huh? I guess people put thousands of songs on those things...just the thought of trying to go through thousands of songs to pick one out is sort of mind-boggling to me. I have better things to do with my time.

Or do you prefer silence?

If I am outdoors painting, I only want to hear the wind, the rustle of leaves, the sound of birds and insects. I do not want to hear or see any human activity around me if I can get away from it. That is one reason I love painting in the deserts of California or Arizona....I can really get away from that sort of distraction. I like painting alone for that reason. But now it is really not too safe to paint alone, I guess. Too bad. Too bad for future artists that may not ever be able to enjoy the experience of being all alone out in the desert or in the woods.

How do you measure your personal progress as an artist?( I am not referring to sales or shows)

Measuring my personal progress as an artist is very subjective. I think that artists "intuitively" know if they are progressing or standing still by just trying to make art that will sell. I know many artists that are basically making the same kind of art over and over because that is what sold or won a prize in some competition (don't get me started on the downside of competitions!) or what some gallery wants them to paint. These artists are not progressing. An artist should be able to evaluate what they are doing now compared to where they were a year ago, five years ago, and know if they are actually improving or stagnating. That is if they are honest with themselves.

In light of the current world climate, what do you feel is the role of the artist? (For instance, do landscape painters have a responsibility to record nature before it's developed?

I see this come up again and again in the art magazines..."I need to paint the landscape before it is gone so future generations will know what was lost." Actually, if one really wants to record nature before it's developed it would be better, much better, to take a lot of good photographs (preferably digital - they will last longer if properly archived). When an artist paints a landscape, it will be their interpretation of what that landscape looked like to them at that time. They will edit, remove power lines, add trees, change the color of the sky, move things around, etc. I love looking at the paintings done by the early California outdoor painters of places where I grew up in Southern California that are all now under freeways, shopping centers, and housing developments. But I am not sure those paintings are accurate representations of what was there then but they sure as hell look a lot better than what is there now!

Are there any other artists in your family? (including all the arts)

My oldest sister is a wonderful artist; she mostly paints in oils. She is basically self-taught and very self-conscious about her work. She says that she is just not good enough to be in shows, etc. Her work is far superior to the majority of the junk you see in the art magazines and galleries today and she could easily get in any good gallery and would sell well. But at her age (she is now 80) she is not likely to change her thought patterns. She made good money years ago doing portraits of dogs for their owners and she is an outstanding portrait artist but she mostly does landscapes now. My twin sister does incredible work with knitting and crocheting. She can make the most amazing things from knitting beautiful socks to knitting or crocheting sweaters, etc. I am always amazed at her skill and craftsmanship when I visit her. She is really at an advanced level of this art and craft. My mother was also a good artist; she could draw very well but never took lessons or did anything with her talent.

How do you feel about art education- the value of a college degree, attending workshops, etc.? Art School vs a liberal arts education? Which path did you follow?

My formal art education was spending about 3 1/2 years studying under Barbara Nuss, who taught me all the basics of oil painting and without whom I would not be where I am today, that's for sure! From talking with some of the "big name" artists of today out West, I learned more in those few years working with Barbara than they ever learned in art courses at a college with a typical art program. In fact, most of them said the typical art programs in most universities are a waste of time. Those that went to a place like the Art Center in Pasadena, CA, or the Pratt Institute in NYC on the other hand, got a good education in art. But those places are not liberal arts colleges....they only teach art and they expect hard work and not many budding young artists can hack that sort of program. I went the biological sciences route after I got out of the Army even though I liked art in high school and thought of becoming an "artist." But I also liked biology and I received a BS and an MS in the biological sciences and my professional career of some 35 years was as a government scientist and environmental policy advisor. I started studying under Barbara several years before I retired and also started taking week-long intensive outdoor painting workshops with some of the best landscape artists painting today. You learn a lot in that sort of setting, where everybody there is painting, talking about painting, thinking only about painting and you can ask one-on-one questions of the instructor who has had a lot of experience at painting and selling g landscape paintings. Choose the instructor carefully! When I read where some artist says they are "self-taught", I wonder if that is supposed to be some sort of "badge of honor?" To me, that just says that they probably wasted a lot of time making lots of mistakes that a good teacher could have helped them avoid. And they are probably still making lots of the same mistakes. Just look at the mediocre and lousy art in the current art magazines and being pushed by a lot of the art galleries today. That's them.

What hangs on your walls? Do you collect the work of other artists?

I have a lot of paintings on my walls. It is almost all by other artists. They are all originals; I do not buy reproductions. Reproductions are not "fine art;" they are just copies. I want the painting (or print if it is a hand-pulled serigraph or silkscreen, etc.) that the artist actually made with his or her hands. I virtually have no more room on my walls for any more paintings. I think I may have about two paintings that I did myself on my walls. I guess I need a bigger house! Or start hanging paintings "salon style" on my walls.

What hangs on your walls? Do you collect the work of other artists?

I have a lot of paintings on my walls. It is almost all by other artists. They are all originals; I do not buy reproductions. Reproductions are not "fine art;" they are just copies. I want the painting (or print if it is a hand-pulled serigraph or silkscreen, etc.) that the artist actually made with his or her hands. I virtually have no more room on my walls for any more paintings. I think I may have about two paintings that I did myself on my walls. I guess I need a bigger house! Or start hanging paintings "salon style" on my walls.

What do you consider your best work? Why?

The next painting I do will be my best work. It will be the culmination of everything I have learned to date. Unfortunately, that is not always the case but it sounds good, right? Some artists have a hard time "letting go" (e.g., selling) their paintings. I have never had this problem. When I finish a painting, I am glad to release it to someone that likes it enough to pay their hard-earned (well, often hard-earned) money for it. For me that is a "First Place - Best in Show!"

What would you like to comment on or share that you haven't been asked?

I often hear artists claiming that they are a "professional" artist because they are in galleries or their art is selling. Well, as far as I am concerned, being a professional artist has nothing to do with selling art or how much money an artist may be making or how many shows or associations they are in or awards they have received. To me a "professional" artist is an artist that can see what is wrong with his or her artwork and knows how to correct it. Period.